Database Info

Infuse Video Playback Performance

After messing around with my Infuse on stock, custom Froyo and Gingerbread ROM's, I've noticed a pretty major difference between it and I9000-based phones like the Captivate: video performance.
On my Captivate, hardware-accelerated video playback up to 720p was rock solid. If it played at all, it always played smoothly, and this was regardless of running programs or RAM usage. With the Infuse, Froyo ROM's support hardware-accelerated video playback up to 1080p, but there seem to be some disadvantages.
The most major thing I noticed is that RAM usage affects video playback. If I use my phone for a while and allow the RAM to populate with background apps, I immediately run into issues trying to play video: high-bitrate 1080p video will no longer play. Instead, I just get a black screen and no sound. Additionally, several 720p videos I tested will lag heavily. Occasionally (using an app that supports both hardware and software playback like MX Video Player), playing a video will error out and force the app to switch to software decoding.
Clearing the RAM using the built-in task manager and restarting the video player immediately resolves these issues for the most part. There still are some effects that always persist though: certain 720p videos (which play perfectly on my Captivate) will still show some hints of lag using either hardware or software decoding. Additionally, I can't seek or resume playback of high-bitrate 1080p MKV's: the screen goes black and the sound stops playing. I can only play these files from the beginning for them to have video and sound.
Except for the issues specifically relating to 1080p (which don't apply to Gingerbread ROM's), all of these issues are observed and reproducible on any ROM, including stock Froyo, custom Froyo (Infused 1.6), Hellraiser + any I9000 JVQ ROM and Infused v2.2.3. This is severely disappointing, because I upgraded to the Infuse expecting a media experience equal to or improved over the Captivate with the SAMOLED+ screen. I also didn't want a Galaxy S2 because the Yamaha audio chip it uses is a dealbreaker for me.
While that was mostly a list of observations and a not-so-subtle rant, would anyone be able to offer an explanation for this? Or perhaps my case is somehow isolated? Can anyone else confirm this?
Edit: Here's a YouTube video showing the RAM usage playback issues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPiCPSWUTCY

Never had any trouble with video playback. I have a couple of movies on mine. Running Infused 2.2.3

Truckerglenn said:
Never had any trouble with video playback. I have a couple of movies on mine. Running Infused 2.2.3
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I'm not sure what to think of that, considering Infused 2.2.3 doesn't even support 1080p playback. But even leaving that out, would you be willing to test sample videos? I mean I can't really explain this better without posting a video of a side-by-side comparison of my Captivate and Infuse playing the same set of videos to show that the Infuse lags on certain videos while the Captivate is smooth.

*bump*
I did some additional testing. Running Infused 1.6 Froyo, I loaded up every app on my phone and then minimized them with the home key. The phone was still running smoothly and there was no signs of lag, but the RAM was as full as I could make it. I then opened the stock video app and attempted to play my library of videos.
The result? Only 2 videos played. One was a 720p H.264 MKV encoded from a Bluray, and the other was the 1080p trailer that came preloaded on the phone. Both videos lagged heavily. The rest of the videos (lower quality 720p or higher bitrate 1080p H.264 MKV's) did not play at all: just a black screen and a seek bar that didn't move. I then performed a level 2 clear using the task manager. Result: all the videos played fine without lag.
Conclusion: video playback on the Infuse is definitely tied to RAM usage, which is NOT the case on the I9000/Captivate.

GGXtreme said:
Updated main post with YouTube video demonstration.
You need to **** off.
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if you have a drop box or want to upload the problem videos somewhere ill test it to verify the results. I don't have much of a library. especially not anything high quality.

Dani897 said:
if you have a drop box or want to upload the problem videos somewhere ill test it to verify the results. I don't have much of a library. especially not anything high quality.
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Thanks. I'm working on it, I'll send you a PM in a bit.
Edit: PM sent.

sorry to inform you but I had no issues with that video. I wonder if you may have something stuck in data somewhere (some apps keep data on the sd card) or If you may have bad blocks on your sdcard. I haven't rebooted my phone today and loaded up ram by playing flash videos in the phone browser getting ram all the way up to 340 mb used. 140 was the browser alone and I started that video just fine. ill keep testing but if I were you id back up the sd cards and wipe the phone through settings (does an internal sd format as well unlike the recovery wipe) after a flash with the unbrick and start over. if it persists id get a new phone and for the sake of being thorough I will test it more but so ar I couldn't reproduce the issues.

Dani897 said:
sorry to inform you but I had no issues with that video. I wonder if you may have something stuck in data somewhere (some apps keep data on the sd card) or If you may have bad blocks on your sdcard. I haven't rebooted my phone today and loaded up ram by playing flash videos in the phone browser getting ram all the way up to 340 mb used. 140 was the browser alone and I started that video just fine. ill keep testing but if I were you id back up the sd cards and wipe the phone through settings (does an internal sd format as well unlike the recovery wipe) after a flash with the unbrick and start over. if it persists id get a new phone and for the sake of being thorough I will test it more but so ar I couldn't reproduce the issues.
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I'm going to return to stock using Unbrick and reformat the internal SD and try again. I don't see why there would be bad blocks though. I'm guessing the video plays smoothly without any sort of lag or hitches for you?

GGXtreme said:
I'm going to return to stock using Unbrick and reformat the internal SD and try again. I don't see why there would be bad blocks though. I'm guessing the video plays smoothly without any sort of lag or hitches for you?
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smooth as butter. sometimes weird hard to explain stuff happens. I can't explain it.
I can see how a kernel issue in gb could cause it with rogers lame firmware but I don't see the issue with infused 1.6 so it doesn't seem to be an infuse specific issue at all.

Ok, I just finished completely resetting, reflashing and reformatting my phone. On first boot, I threw that exact file I sent you back onto the memory and tried to play it. Still got a black screen with no sound or video. Opened the task manager, performed a level 2 clear and tried again. Video plays but still lags and hitches every few seconds. I mean, if I'm really the only one with this issue...???

GGXtreme said:
Ok, I just finished completely resetting, reflashing and reformatting my phone. On first boot, I threw that exact file I sent you back onto the memory and tried to play it. Still got a black screen with no sound or video. Opened the task manager, performed a level 2 clear and tried again. Video plays but still lags and hitches every few seconds. I mean, if I'm really the only one with this issue...???
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sorry looks that way. but you should have only moved the videos back for testing. i know it shouldnt matter but computers are weird. maybe it's a deficientcy in your cpu? could only apply to the gpu inside it. you just never know. if you can reproduce the error with the trailers that come on the phone and compare it to a store model maybe they'll swap it out for you. if not call customer service and raise hell or send it to samsung.

Dani897 said:
sorry looks that way. but you should have only moved the videos back for testing. i know it shouldnt matter but computers are weird. maybe it's a deficientcy in your cpu? could only apply to the gpu inside it. you just never know. if you can reproduce the error with the trailers that come on the phone and compare it to a store model maybe they'll swap it out for you. if not call customer service and raise hell or send it to samsung.
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What do you mean only move the videos back for testing? I didn't put anything on the phone except for that video file. The CPU doesn't seem to be the issue, because I tested against my Captivate using CPU Spy: both phones run at 400MHz during video playback, which is good enough for lag-free video on the Captivate (and should be the same case for the Infuse).
I can't get much to happen with the trailers that came with the phone, because only one is HD and it's a small file with black bars and a lower bitrate than most encodes. If I leave the phone running for over a day with the memory full, I can get the 1080p trailer to lag, but that's not very helpful for getting an exchange (especially since I got my phone at Costco and there are no active models in the store).
But that's not the issue anyway. The problem is that I've been enjoying 720p video on my Captivate for over a year. Now I've upgraded to the Infuse, which is supposed to have even better video performance and its having issues with all of my 720p and 1080p videos.
I'm almost positive this isn't a hardware issue though. Are you sure the entire opening sequence of that video is smooth on your phone? It doesn't seem like you've ever seen the video before watching it on your phone. If you haven't, please watch the video side-by-side on your computer and phone and look for any differences.

GGXtreme said:
What do you mean only move the videos back for testing? I didn't put anything on the phone except for that video file. The CPU doesn't seem to be the issue, because I tested against my Captivate using CPU Spy: both phones run at 400MHz during video playback, which is good enough for lag-free video on the Captivate (and should be the same case for the Infuse).
I can't get much to happen with the trailers that came with the phone, because only one is HD and it's a small file with black bars and a lower bitrate than most encodes. If I leave the phone running for over a day with the memory full, I can get the 1080p trailer to lag, but that's not very helpful for getting an exchange (especially since I got my phone at Costco and there are no active models in the store).
But that's not the issue anyway. The problem is that I've been enjoying 720p video on my Captivate for over a year. Now I've upgraded to the Infuse, which is supposed to have even better video performance and its having issues with all of my 720p and 1080p videos.
I'm almost positive this isn't a hardware issue though. Are you sure the entire opening sequence of that video is smooth on your phone? It doesn't seem like you've ever seen the video before watching it on your phone. If you haven't, please watch the video side-by-side on your computer and phone and look for any differences.
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i meant not to restore all the files from the sd card backup when you test. just the files you want to test.
it is extremely smooth i cant seem to do anything to make it not smooth. i even bogged my phone down sequencially opening every app on the thing and returning home with the home button till it started lagging badly but when i open the video player it is butter smooth. really i cant explain your issues, im just speculating possibilities.
but ill try it on my computer as well.

Dani897 said:
i meant not to restore all the files from the sd card backup when you test. just the files you want to test.
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Click to collapse
I only restored one file. The video. Nothing else.
Edit: Can you tell me the build number of your Infuse (the 4-digit number under the battery, between S/N and SKU)? Mine is 1104.

oh wait there it is. the video player just stopped working.
not sure what changed but i put it on the dock and tried starting it again and no dice. i dont think this is ram related.
the issue for me is intermittent at best though. after a reboot it didnt play at first but 2 minutes later it was fine.
mine is also an 1104. april 2011 that's weird i wonder if you got a refurb. i think i picked mine up launch week.

Dani897 said:
oh wait there it is. the video player just stopped working.
not sure what changed but i put it on the dock and tried starting it again and no dice. i dont think this is ram related.
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Hmm, I wonder if that's unrelated to the issue considering how easily it happens on my phone and how much trouble you had to go through. If the video still doesn't lag on your phone at all (when you compare it to a computer), then I'll assume you're not getting the same issue. Also, are you using the kernel that came with Infused 1.6, or did you flash another one?

infused as is right now. nothing oddball here. atleast not right now. i have used some init.d scripts on it for loopy smoothness and memory managment mods but this time it is only the rom as gtg released it with the included kernel.
ok found the issue sorta. i cant tell what causes it but if you launch the video from my files or other file manager it works fine. if you open it from video player it doesn't. the video didnt show in my video player at first so i opened it from my files. after that it was in the video list in the video player and didnt work. there is something odd going on here because video player doesnt show in recent apps if you open it from the file manager. also after opening the video player it doesnt work from my files till you kill the video player. it is just weirdness. there is some messed up programming going on here. but try killing the player and opening the file with file manager. and yes i made sure it is using the samsung video player when it asked!
sorry i asked you to wipe your phone for that but if you dont do that and use the unbrick you can see all sorts of issues and no one is sure why.

Maybe that's why mine play fine. I've never loaded a vid into the player. Just opened them bygoing to the gallery.

Dani897 said:
infused as is right now. nothing oddball here. atleast not right now. i have used some init.d scripts on it for loopy smoothness and memory managment mods but this time it is only the rom as gtg released it with the included kernel.
ok found the issue sorta. i cant tell what causes it but if you launch the video from my files or other file manager it works fine. if you open it from video player it doesn't. the video didnt show in my video player at first so i opened it from my files. after that it was in the video list in the video player and didnt work. there is something odd going on here because video player doesnt show in recent apps if you open it from the file manager. also after opening the video player it doesnt work from my files till you kill the video player. it is just weirdness. there is some messed up programming going on here. but try killing the player and opening the file with file manager. and yes i made sure it is using the samsung video player when it asked!
sorry i asked you to wipe your phone for that but if you dont do that and use the unbrick you can see all sorts of issues and no one is sure why.
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That's an unexpected development. I've always been opening my videos from the video player, never from a file manager. How about other video players? Did you try MX Video Player? I need to use that player for my videos to see the subtitles (the video I sent you has subtitles that will display in MX Video Player and mVideoPlayer, but the former is better at displaying them).
Edit: Actually, I just tried playing the video from both the stock file manager and the Gallery app, and I still have the exact same issues as the video app :/

GGXtreme said:
That's an unexpected development. I've always been opening my videos from the video player, never from a file manager. How about other video players? Did you try MX Video Player? I need to use that player for my videos to see the subtitles (the video I sent you has subtitles that will display in MX Video Player and mVideoPlayer, but the former is better at displaying them).
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is it free?

[Q] Choppy video playback issues?

I just got my Transformer on Christmas. It was a Black Friday model, and I updated to the latest OTA since, at the last I had read, the root method asked for "the latest firmware." Oops. No root for me. Anyway, I have loaded up multiple episodes of multiple series of 720p subtitled anime MKVs. They all run terribly, stuttering and stumbling along, not keeping up in the least. I've tried using both QQPlayer (my old standby) and every other MKV compatible player on the Market. My old single-core Droid Incredible could handle these will significantly fewer stutters, and my new Rezound dominates them. Heck, even my Android-rigged HP Touchpad didn't blink. So, what's the deal? Is this normal?
EDIT: I've tried this off internal memory and the dock's SD card (class 10). No discernable difference. Tried on a fresh boot too for maximum available memory. Still no difference.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium

Video playback is disappointing for me too
I tried to view a video in tegra zone and couldn't even play that... Even tegra zone is making this tegra device look bad lol
Then I tried to find a game called Real Racing 2 HD and it's not compatible....
So much for one of the top Android tablets.. .

Give BSPlayer Lite a go. It has hardware decode for TF. It plays 720P mkv on my TF smoothly. It is free too.

Can you try to view the video preview for The Dark Meadow in the tegra zone game section with bsplayer and let us know how you go.
I couldn't watch it and it's an mp4 video

Malandro2011 said:
Can you try to view the video preview for The Dark Meadow in the tegra zone game section with bsplayer and let us know how you go.
I couldn't watch it and it's an mp4 video
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Click to collapse
Cannot find the preview video. Only found a few images in there.
Note: I am using the Revolver ROM that has the Tegra Game Zone removed, I went to the Market to re-install it. Don't know if it is the reason for not seeing the video.

Did the game you selected show a black icon?
Would be good if we can find a common 720p video we can all test to confirm if it just doesn't work on any Transformer regardless of ROM, h/w version, viewer, etc.
My TF is rooted and I tried with CPU at normal level then up to 1400 and it was the same

Malandro2011 said:
Did the game you selected show a black icon?
Would be good if we can find a common 720p video we can all test to confirm if it just doesn't work on any Transformer regardless of ROM, h/w version, viewer, etc.
My TF is rooted and I tried with CPU at normal level then up to 1400 and it was the same
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Click to collapse
Yeah. Black icon, coming 2012. Is it the one?
If you can upload the video to one of the file sharing service, like rapidshare or fileserve, I can download it and let you know the result.
Alternatively, you can just install BSPlayer and the ARM7 codec and try it yourself. It is free.

kokopopz said:
Cannot find the preview video. Only found a few images in there.
Note: I am using the Revolver ROM that has the Tegra Game Zone removed, I went to the Market to re-install it. Don't know if it is the reason for not seeing the video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No such game exists on TZ.
Got aything else?

kokopopz said:
Give BSPlayer Lite a go. It has hardware decode for TF. It plays 720P mkv on my TF smoothly. It is free too.
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Ive possibly posted this a squillion times .. and im suprised it doesnt offer a more obvious fix but as ^^ above says "BSPlayer" is THE ONLY player ive used that will play 99% of movie files without hitch ... Including mkv's
IMO the only player youll need... and it is indeed free .. however i'd recommend a nice donation

Yeah I tried BSPlayer, Mobo, MX & the stock player and none of them would play it.
I'll see if I can take a video with my phone and try downloading the video somehow.

I appreciate the response(s). I'll try BS Player soon. Note that we can again, I'll be rooting, ROMing, and overclocking soon. We'll see how that helps. I just wanna use my tablet mostly for anime, internet, and some gaming. Basically, a bigger screen than my Rezound lol
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium

[Q]4.4.2 playing video from restricted profile

Just done a factory reset to clear the bugs but I have found a small problem with video playback using the stock player & a restricted profile.
My daughters video collections on the sd card, I can view and hover with playback but it will not let me click on the file unless I am in a full account. As soon as I create a restricted account it refuses to allow me to playback video. It works fine in MX player but try telling a 4 year old to use something new..
Is there anything I can do to get this working ?
Thanks.

Here's an idea
GoNz0 said:
Just done a factory reset to clear the bugs but I have found a small problem with video playback using the stock player & a restricted profile.
My daughters video collections on the sd card, I can view and hover with playback but it will not let me click on the file unless I am in a full account. As soon as I create a restricted account it refuses to allow me to playback video. It works fine in MX player but try telling a 4 year old to use something new..
Is there anything I can do to get this working ?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry but I have no idea how to solve this, since I have no experience with restricted profiles. However, I have a solution if you are looking for a kids mode, which may or may not solve your issues.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kiddoware.kidsplace&hl=en
That's a kid mode app that you can be password protected, you can either run it on your own account or perhaps integrate it as the launcher for your daughter's profile, I don't know if it will work that way but it is worth a try.
The reason I think this may work is because the developer also makes a video player that integrates with the app, and the description mentions it reads external storage. Due to the changes with Kitkat, I don't know if it still works perfectly (although from what I understand the changes with Kitkat were regarding write, so maybe reading the video files might still work), but it's worth a shot.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kiddoware.kidsvideoplayer&hl=en
Hope it works!

Thanks, I already have MX player but she loves the preview the stock player has. I am backing up 60gb of vids to format the card as it has a wobbly even renaming folders while in her profile, I think that may be part of the issue so I will try the obvious 1st

oh well, this is a confirmed bug. formatted the sd card, stuck 1 video back on and still can't play it.

Video playback issues

Hello there!
I've been searching the forums (mainly this one) and wasn't able to find a proper answer, so here I go:
I am REALLY happy with this phablet, being the Mate 7 my 5tht android phone, but I've never had any video playback problems: When I try to play a 720p mp4 file, it freezes at 1:00 (5 seconds more or less) or it stops and the system shows a popup: "Cannot play this video".
I've tried MX Player (HW and SW decoding), VLC and VLC beta, stock video player and MoboPlayer. Every one of them behaves the same way.
Also tried lower resolution files, and 360p aren't a problem for them: It plays them flawlessly. Played them from SD card and internal storage.
Btw, Youtube plays 1080p videos without a problem, and I usually watch short Twitch.tv sessions at highest resolution.
I don't know what else I can do, and I am seriously thinking about returning the unit, since it's one of my main uses (and that's why I just LOVE this screen).
Any help is appreciated and, also, any question regarding this problem.
[EDIT]
Btw, I am on 5.1.1 with EMUI 3.1 (build B324), unrooted.

Have you tried a factory reset? This would mostly fix issued like this. I'm running the same version of Android on the mt7-tl10 gold version and have never had an issue with this. In fact I'm currently happily re-watching Star Wars episodes 1 to 6 in 720p.
It sounds like the videos are being corrupted (correct me if I'm wrong), because that's exactly what happens when I try to play a video which torrent hasn't finished downloading.
Good luck!

Scruffykid said:
Have you tried a factory reset? This would mostly fix issued like this. I'm running the same version of Android on the mt7-tl10 gold version and have never had an issue with this. In fact I'm currently happily re-watching Star Wars episodes 1 to 6 in 720p.
It sounds like the videos are being corrupted (correct me if I'm wrong), because that's exactly what happens when I try to play a video which torrent hasn't finished downloading.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.
Today I've discovered my SD card was having read issues, and even when I formatted it, it had issues with anything beyond 20MB, regardless being video or audio. Also, when i copied anything from the SD to the main memory, it kept having the same problems: mp3 suddenly stopped and videos couldn't be played.
So I extracted the SD, did a factory reset, and it looks like it's working flawlessly (fingers crossed).
So far, so good.

EQLucky said:
Thanks for your reply.
Today I've discovered my SD card was having read issues, and even when I formatted it, it had issues with anything beyond 20MB, regardless being video or audio. Also, when i copied anything from the SD to the main memory, it kept having the same problems: mp3 suddenly stopped and videos couldn't be played.
So I extracted the SD, did a factory reset, and it looks like it's working flawlessly (fingers crossed).
So far, so good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad I could be of some help!
I had the same issue with a previous device of mine, though the culprit had been a cheap and nasty MSD card I bought on vacation to squeeze extra photos in. I find that investing in proper storage (and taking the punch cost-wise) can go a long way, whether it be for your phone, PC, laptop or whatever.
Cheers! :highfive:

Mx player wont play WMV any more.

I suspect this may be since the Andriod update a few weeks ago.
I have several types of videos saved on my andriod and now it wont play any wmv type.
The notice I get is "this video format (wmv3) is not supported"
They used to play.
I uninstalle the app and reinstalled it. . No joy.
I took a couple videos off the android via usb and they play on my pc. I put them back and they wont play. I also moved other wmv videos over to test and they wont play either.
What can Try to fix this?

Why does everyone keep asking the same question over and over? If you search, you'll find the answers already.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/mx-player/v1-9-10-errors-t3698138
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/mx-player/wmv-video-suppot-t3686498
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/mx-player/mx-player-prov1-9-8-custom-code-play-wmv-t3685381
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/mx-player/wmv-video-suppot-t3686498
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/mx-player/mx-player-v1-9-6-wmv-video-supported-t3666070
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/mx-player/suddenly-mxplayer-pro-playing-wmv2-t3671888
https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/mx-player/bug-mx-player-pro-build-1-9-5-dropped-t3663029/page2

Ok so not being very smart with a smart phone, how do i load that custom codek into my mx player so it will play wmv again.
seems like a bad move on mx part to cut wmv support.

Ok i read over a bunch of those and followed the first ones instructions. Took me a bit to figure out which codex to use the aio was all in one.
I did that and it works. Yoo hoo.
So why did mx cut out wmv? That seems like such a bad decision.

KillroyRich said:
Ok i read over a bunch of those and followed the first ones instructions. Took me a bit to figure out which codex to use the aio was all in one.
I did that and it works. Yoo hoo.
So why did mx cut out wmv? That seems like such a bad decision.
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Click to collapse
Probably due to licensing and stuff.is all about the money..
Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk